Covers the major events leading up to the French and Indian War, including the breaking of the Covenant Chain, George Washington's conflict with the French in the Ohio River Valley, the convening of the Albany Congress, and Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan of Union. Also covers the Braddock Expedition and the Battle of the Monongahela.

1. A SURVEY OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
Unit 1: Colonialism and Nationhood
Part 10: The French and Indian War

2. The Five Nations
of the Iroquois
Confederacy
Seneca
Cayuga
Onondaga
Oneida
Mohawk
Tuscarora (after 1722)
IROQUOIS TRIBES

3. INDIAN ALLIANCES
• In 1677, the English colonists in
North America entered into a
formal alliance with the Iroquois
Confederacy. The treaties that
formed the alliance were known
as the Covenant Chain.
• In 1753, the Mohawk tribe
broke the Covenant Chain after
colonists illegally claimed tribal
land in New York.
• The breaking of the Covenant
Chain led the Iroquois to stop
defending the interests of the
English colonists.

4. INDIAN ALLIANCES
• The Huron people, whose tribal
territory lay to the north of the
Iroquois Confederacy, were
longstanding enemies of the
Iroquois. In 1608, they entered
into a formal alliance with the
French colonists who had
begun to settle in Quebec.
• By 1754, then, the English had
just lost their alliance with the
Iroquois while the French kept
their alliance with the Huron.
• The French and Indian War
broke out in 1754.

5. ROBERT DINWIDDIE
• Royal Governor of Virginia, with
private economic interests in
the Ohio River Valley.
• In 1753, French soldiers began
constructing a fort at the forks
of the Ohio River in present-day
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Completion of this fort would
give the French total control
over trade with the Indians of
the Ohio River Valley.
• In 1754, Dinwiddie sent
Virginian soldiers to expel the
French and take over their fort.

6. GEORGE
WASHINGTON
• Appointed by Dinwiddie to lead
the charge against the French.
• Washington and his men
attacked the French but failed
to expel them. As French
reinforcements arrived,
Washington had few options
but to surrender and retreat.
• The dispute between English
and French colonists in America
meant that England and France
were now effectively at war.

7. THE ALBANY CONGRESS: JUNE 19 TO JULY 11, 1754
To repair the alliance
with the Iroquois and
to discuss ways of
handling the dispute
with the French,
delegates from the
English colonies met
in Albany, New York.
They unanimously
approved a proposal
drafted by Benjamin
Franklin to create a
union of the colonies
which would have
the authority to deal
with problems of
collective security.

8. BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN
• Philanthropist and public official
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Wrote books and treatises,
published and edited a
newspaper, engaged in
international diplomacy,
conducted scientific
experiments, and founded
important public institutions.
• Advocated the union of the
colonies from 1754 onwards,
first in their dispute with France
and then in their revolutionary
dispute with Great Britain.

9. MAJOR GENERAL EDWARD BRADDOCK
AND THE BRADDOCK EXPEDITION OF 1755
In an attempt to end
the dispute with the
French, the British
Government sent one
of its most decorated
military strategists to
capture the fort. He had
never visited America
before and his offensive
ended in disaster.

10. BRADDOCK’S
DEFEAT AT THE
BATTLE OF THE
MONONGAHELA
Braddock refused to rely on Indian
knowledge of the battle terrain.
When he neared the forks of the
Ohio River, the French and their
Indian allies were hiding in the
trees awaiting his arrival. After he
was severely wounded, George
Washington, who was under his
command, tried to impose order
on the surviving troops.

11. FRANKLIN: THE DIPLOMAT WASHINGTON: THE SOLDIER

12. A SURVEY OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
Unit 1: Colonialism and Nationhood
Part 10: The French and Indian War